The Metro Vancouver Retail Thread

[jlousa]

I too was under that impression, anyone have any insight?

[officedweller]

That's what I heard too, I was surprised that the article says that the Brighton Costco is staying open.
Is there a Costco in the Northeast? i.e. Dominion Triangle in PoCo? If it is under construction, maybe it's a stop gap measure until the Northeast is better served.

[vanlaw]

^^^I thihk a large Costco opened up in Poco a few years back in that area - if thats the area borderd by Maryhill bypass, loughheed and pitt river bridge.

[SpongeG]

it was rumoured to close down - but i heard on here i think that they will close down near the end of this year?

i don't know why its the main one for a lot of burnaby and new west residents

other news - a new convenience store has opened next to the future starbucks at holdom station

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by vanlaw

^^^I thihk a large Costco opened up in Poco a few years back in that area - if thats the area borderd by Maryhill bypass, loughheed and pitt river bridge.

That's the one I was thinking of - it should serve the Northeast well. Wonder why Brighton remains?
I guess it does serve New West (easy access via via Cariboo Road & Winston).

[SpongeG]

the poco one opened around 2000-2001 cause thats when i got a gift membership and went there...

from lougheed mall area its a good 20-30 minute drive to that store, to brighton its only a few minutes - its probably 15-20 minutes to the new willingdon one

i think the brighton one also houses their offices and i think it was the first location in canada

its not a bad one convenient for me

[officedweller]

That's right - it was the first in Canada.

[SpongeG]

does anyone know where the entrance is for the WINNERS/Homsense on cambie? they have banners up but we couldn't find an entrance to the store - isn't is suppossed to be open now?

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by officedweller

That's what I heard too, I was surprised that the article says that the Brighton Costco is staying open.
Is there a Costco in the Northeast? i.e. Dominion Triangle in PoCo? If it is under construction, maybe it's a stop gap measure until the Northeast is better served.

Costco's western Canada office is at Brighton.. it appears that they've built the space at the new location to accomodate this.. but it doesn't look finished. I would guess they plan a move at a later date.

Ron.

[SpongeG]

i wonder what they could do with the old costco - lowes? or move the lougheed mall walmart there?

oh the possibilities

[SpongeG]

and another starbucks opening to announce - just outside the Cambie Street entrance of the new home depot on cambie - i guess the starbucks a block south at broadway and cambie is just too far away

[deasine]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

and another starbucks opening to announce - just outside the Cambie Street entrance of the new home depot on cambie - i guess the starbucks a block south at broadway and cambie is just too far away

Wow -_- the next downtown? soon we are going to see four starbucks in one corner T_T

[osirisboy]

does anyone know if that wendys on cambie and broadway is going to get redeveloped anytime soon.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

and another starbucks opening to announce - just outside the Cambie Street entrance of the new home depot on cambie - i guess the starbucks a block south at broadway and cambie is just too far away

The new one will be near a bus stop (at least for the Oak bus after the Canada Line opens??). The old one is near a bus stop that will see a drop in service. But no location on the corner with the station entrance (City property to be eventually redeveloped with the City Hall expansion/replacement).

[officedweller]

Fido is taking the westmost Robson St. space @ L'Hermitage next to the IGA entrance.

[Bert]

Originally Posted by officedweller

However, the new Costco warehouse has lots of natural lighting, and the company has always tried to minimize its impact on the environment, Damiani explained.

"For many, many years we've been compacting and selling cardboard and plastic wrap," Damiani said. "Before it was the fashionable thing to do.

"We're very shy, we don't go out and talk about what we do. The members see what we do."

They'd better be shy about this one - it's a far cry, environmentally-wise, from the downtown one. It's sited in a fairly pedestrian inaccessible area, set well back from the road, across a giant parking lot for good measure. This one is most definitely fully auto-oriented.

The parking lot is ridiculous - it's the most low density parking I've ever seen. There are huge dividing lines between parking stalls, and several of the parking lanes are wider than most residential streets. I'm not exaggerating when I say they could easily fit the same amount of parking in half the space or less.

[MistyMountainHop]

Originally Posted by Bert

They'd better be shy about this one - it's a far cry, environmentally-wise, from the downtown one. It's sited in a fairly pedestrian inaccessible area, set well back from the road, across a giant parking lot for good measure. This one is most definitely fully auto-oriented.

The parking lot is ridiculous - it's the most low density parking I've ever seen. There are huge dividing lines between parking stalls, and several of the parking lanes are wider than most residential streets. I'm not exaggerating when I say they could easily fit the same amount of parking in half the space or less.

Even downtown, the number of the people that walk to Costco must be miniscule. How could you carry everything if they only sell in massive quantities?

[deasine]

I don't really mind Costco's location - yes I agree it's not situated at the best pedestrian friendly location but like marmorek said, how many people actually walk to costco to buy stuff? Or even take transit for that matter? Besides, if they did have a more pedestrian friendly location, that's a pretty hot place for other retail. Costs go UP!

[Bert]

That's their target market, sure. Their business model doesn't lend itself well to being green. However, my main point is, even recognizing that, they still have a ton of room for improvement.

When I do shop at Costco, I see many people buying hand-carriable quantities, and many more with granny cart quantities. The new Costco is actually physically a short distance from some decent emerging density in the Brentwood area, it's just that Costco chose to locate in the most un-pedestrian friendly part of the area, and chose to build its store far from the street, with a parking lot at least twice as big as it needs to be for the number of cars it holds.

Costco could have made a better effort here. The innuendo from the manager in the news article that Costco is green rubbed me the wrong way - it isn't; especially this store.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Bert

The parking lot is ridiculous - it's the most low density parking I've ever seen. There are huge dividing lines between parking stalls, and several of the parking lanes are wider than most residential streets. I'm not exaggerating when I say they could easily fit the same amount of parking in half the space or less.

If you'd ever been to the Grandview Costco you'd know the parking lot was a joke, it was very cramped, many fender benders just waiting to happen. My girlfriend and I drive a 4 cyl compact car, and even so we were thrilled to see the dimensions of the new parking lot. The reality is that Costco shoppers tend to come in large vehicles. You can argue that this is not environmentally friendly, but Costco using a little more land for parking is hardly an environmental disaster.

The environmental issue has 2 parts:

1. Costco's operating environmental record as company: it could be better. Why didn't Burnaby force an environmental code similar to the Walmart site on Marine Drive for Costco? Who knows, maybe they wanted the giant tax revenues that are now coming to them instead of Vancouver. Chock it up on the list Vancouver has lost at Burnaby's gain. Personally I'd like to see a lot more rainwater capture and some form of local power generation (solar, wind) on big boxes like Costco. Energy efficient lighting and heating should be a given.

2. Costco as a business model appeals to the SUV driving, McMansion living, suburbanite crowd. As a group these are among the worst resource wasters and polluters in the world. Is that Costco's fault? We're still living in a free market. Exercise your opinion with your wallet (and by all means, tell all your friends).

I don't know about other parts of North America, but maybe with downtown stores and the like, Costco is trying to prove(?) to itself and others that it doesn't have to be just one other big box in the burbs.